Please consider the combination of Chord M Scaler with the MC C53. McIntosh knew that the Equalizer combo with the M Scaler would produce the sound that you’d appreciate in concordance to your speaker tonal individuality. Way ahead of us. I had the Scaler paired with a Qutest and Freya Plus preamp for Tube tones… but my Cornwall 4’s love the DAC2, equalizer, and Scaler ability to enhance what my ears want. No fatigue!
McIntosh C52 to C53?
I recently posted a discussion on the weak link in my system:
https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/is-my-mcintosh-c52-pre-amp-the-weak-link
The general consensus of opinion was; the DAC in my McIntosh C52 pre-amp/DAC. So what do I do, upgrade the Aurender N10 streamer to an A20 (streamer with built in DAC), use a stand alone DAC or something else? Based on reviews I am hearing great things about the new DAC (DA2) used in the C53 pre-amp/DAC. Anyone upgraded from a C52 to C53 and noticed a significant improvement in DAC SQ?